2010 Calvin Awards: Best Actor
February 11, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Yet, for this year's Calvin Award for Best Actor, we've gone just a touch more mainstream – and we're perfectly okay with that. Actually, it's a bit of a surprise that our winner hasn't received the prize previously, given how much we admire his body of work. In a squeaker of a vote, we selected George Clooney as our top acting performance of the year for his marvelous portrayal of traveler/self-help guru/corporate head-taker-offer Ryan Bingham. Clooney is often called a modern-day Cary Grant, and it's easy to see why after watching Up in the Air. The movie itself has the feel of the best classic films, with a complexity and completeness that is often lacking in current cinema. As we watch Ryan become more and more aware of his pain at lacking connection to other people, we experience a real sorrow. His ability to illustrate that feeling of loneliness is so tangible, so touching. Up in the Air is a film that stays with you, and Clooney's performance is a large part of the reason it succeeds on that level.
Just missing out on a win is Jeremy Renner for his memorable work in The Hurt Locker. If you haven't seen this film, you have no idea what you're in for when you finally throw It in the DVD player. Renner plays SFC William James, a bomb disposal specialist working in Iraq. If that sounds like it ought to be a hair-raising job, then you're probably sane, but for William James, he lives for the rush. He's fearless and seems to be unhappy unless he is constantly facing danger. Renner plays the character as somehow damaged even as his bravado tries to stand front and center, though it's a complex damage. William James is a character you want to know more about, and Renner keeps the viewer tantalized with regard to his motivations, flaws and constant need to be moving forward.
Third place is a bit of a surprise, as District 9's Sharlto Copley was so impressive as Wikus Van De Merwe that we're hoping this film's success opens a lot of doors for him. Copley has a very tough task in District 9, as he has to play a clueless and rather despicable character early on, yet as the movie's story expands, the audience has to feel a serious connection to Wikus and to sympathize with his plight. With a lesser actor in the role, District 9 couldn't have been the smashing success it turned out to become.
Apparently, we liked us some science fiction in 2009, because Sam Rockwell is our fourth place finisher for his mind-blowing performance in Moon. Although there are other actors in the film, Moon almost exclusively relies on Rockwell to keep the audience engaged and focused. It's extremely difficult to talk about the nuances of his work without spoiling the film to a large degree, so let's just say that he could conceivably have been nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the same time. An argument could be made that he is most deserving of a win in both categories. If you haven't seen Moon, do yourself a favor and rent it if for nothing else than to marvel at Rockwell's talent.
Fifth place goes to Jeff Bridges, who took a Wrestler-esque role about a country/western musician on a downward spiral and turned it into something heart-rending and unforgettable. Sure, Bridges has turned in some stellar work before (The Dude springs instantly to mind), but Bad Blake comes to life so completely that you forget you're watching Jeff Bridges on the screen. That sort of honesty should be the goal of every actor in the business.
Matt Damon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt take the sixth and seventh spots, for The Informant! and (500) Days of Summer, respectively. Damon is getting to be about as consistent as they come, and 2009 was a very good year for him considering that he got plenty of positive reviews for The Informant! and also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Invictus. He did more than just gain weight and look dumpy for The Informant!, though, as he fully embraced the goofiness of the story and gave us a Mark Whitacre that was probably nothing like the average movie-goers expectations. Gordon-Levitt has caught our attention before for films like The Lookout, Brick, Mysterious Skin and 10 Things I Hate About You, but (500) Days of Summer feels like the movie that pushes him to the next level. His movement from glee to angst is palpable and believable, and even though we know his character's story isn't going to have a conventional happy ending, we're with him all the way.
The final three spots in the top ten are taken by some big, big names – Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds), Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) and Russell Crowe (State of Play). Pitt's goofy Appalachian accent makes Aldo Raine almost irresistible. We're giggling at him even as he commits violent, stunning acts (he's a good guy, though, so rah rah rah!). We're still solidly on board the Robert Downey Jr. train, and love the new sensibility he's injected into Sherlock Holmes. Finally, Crowe is surprisingly engaging in State of Play, playing the character as a bit sloppy and even dislikable at times. It adds a touch of realism to the character, and helps us to forget that "hey, it's Maximus!" on the big screen.
Performances that didn't quite make the cut this year include Souleymane Sy Savane for Goodbye Solo, Chris Pine in Star Trek (there's that sci-fi again!), the great Colin Firth in a Single Man, Liam Neeson in Taken and Johnny Depp for Public Enemies. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Breakthrough Performance
Best Cast
Best Director
Best DVD
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Worst Performance
Worst Picture